Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria agrees with the Immigration Department’s move to bar non-Muslim maids from working in Muslim households in an effort to protect their children’s aqidah (faith).Although he admitted that it was not wrong in Islam, he is worried that children who were being cared for by non-Muslims would adopt practices from other religions.“In terms of the law, it is not haram (forbidden) and it is not makruh (frowned upon) for Muslims to hire non-Muslim maids,” he told FMT.Giving an example, he said that maids who have strong Christian backgrounds could “influence Muslim children”.“They’re smart,” he added.

Harussani said that Muslims needed to hire Muslim maids because “they could care for and educate our children”.This follows the criticism aimed at the Immigration Department by the Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) who said that the policy denied Muslims from having maids in times of a shortage in the sector.Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) also supported the policy saying that it was in order to take care of the practices of Muslim families.“For example, if you take a non-Muslim maid from the Phillippines and she works in a Muslim home, then she might not be able to educate the Muslim child in Muslim practices,” PPIM head activist Nadzim Johan told FMT.Source -FMT-